


Found Family

by AshRain



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Neglect, Kid Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Platonic LAMP - Freeform, Roman is a Good Brother, Running Away, Thomas the dog, antivaxx rhetoric, brotherly prinxiety - Freeform, essential oils mentioned, i can't believe i'm about to add this tag but, no romance involving Virgil because he's 15, the others are adults, unsympathetic remus mentioned
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:28:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25554343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshRain/pseuds/AshRain
Summary: Virgil's homelife has never been the best. The day after he turns 15 he packs his bags and runs away to live with the only family who actually cares; his older brother Roman who shares a house with his best friends Patton and Logan.Virgil is quickly integrated into their little family. In all his 15 years he's never been happier.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil & Creativity | Roman & Logic | Logan & Morality | Patton, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders
Comments: 16
Kudos: 156





	1. Arrival

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LizLuvsCupcakes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LizLuvsCupcakes/gifts).



> This started out as a prompt LizLuvsCupcakes sent me over on tumblr, then we started talking and suddenly this was an entirely established AU with several chapters. Whoops?

It was dark and cold and wet and Virgil shivered, cursing his parents for birthing him in the middle of december.

It was the 20th of december, barely a day after his fifteenth birthday and he just could not stand it anymore. He had to get out of his parents’ house, had to get away.

So he’d packed a suitcase. Stuffing it to the brim with his things, as much as he could take, packed up his school supplies and books, took all the money he’d managed to save up over the last few years and left. He had only taken the key to his locker at school and left behind the one to the house.

That had been a couple of hours ago. He didn’t want to spend any money so he’d decided to walk to the other end of town but about halfway there it had begun to rain. Just a drizzle at first, it quickly turned into a right downpour and he regretted everything.

Regret quickly morphed into relief when his destination finally came into view. A house, two stories high with a small front lawn and neatly painted fence with a small lamp illuminating the doorway and the house number 23.

He hurried, almost running with how much energy this hope gave him. The lights were on, meaning someone had to be home, maybe even the person he’d come to see and ask for help.

When he knocked, his hope was dampened a little. The man who opened the door was too short to be Roman. He also, unlike Roman, wore big, round glasses.

“Uh- hello?” the man said, looking at him with a bit of confusion.

“Hi. Is- is Roman home?”

“No, sorry. He should be home soon though, if you wanna wait?”

“How soon?”

“Oh about 20 minutes I think. Why don’t you come on in and wait for him, huh? You’re soaked.”

Virgil gave the man a wary glare before an ice cold raindrop found its way under his hoodie and down his back. “Okay. Thanks.”

The man smiled and stepped aside to let him in.

He entered the house, stopping on the doormat to avoid dripping all over the hardwood floor.

“I’m Patton Foster, nice to meet you. Let me get you some towels.”

“Virgil. And thanks.”

“Virgil? Roman’s brother Virgil?”

Virgil looked up at him and nodded.

“Okay. Do you want me to call Ro so he knows you’re here and hurries home?”

“No, thank you. You said he’s gonna be home soon anyways right?”

“Yeah, he got off work a bit ago. You just wait here for a second while I get you some towels and maybe a change of clothes?”

He sniffled a little and nodded.

Patton smiled and went upstairs to the bathroom to grab towels and entered Roman’s room to pilfer a pair of sweatpants and one of Roman’s hoodies.

“Here, kiddo. The bathroom’s down this hall to the left, you can just leave your clothes in the sink and I’ll throw them in the wash and dry them.”

Virgil hesitantly grabbed the bundle of cloth Patton handed him and scurried off to the bathroom.

Five minutes later he was bundled up in a blanket, curled up on one end of the couch while Patton was in the kitchen, making tea to warm the shivering teen up.

There was an uncomfortable, heavy silence between them. Patton didn’t want to push and Virgil didn’t want to bother the man.

They only spoke when Virgil thanked Patton for the tea and Patton assured him that it was no trouble at all. And that was how they sat for a quarter hour until the door opened and shut a few moments after. There was shuffling in the hallway as Roman assumedly took off his shoes.

“Pattycake! I’m home!”

“Welcome home! We’ve got a visitor!”

There was a short pause before Roman’s footsteps grew closer. 

“Who?” he asked but judging from the noise he was making he was already just about to enter the living room and Patton didn’t bother answering him.

Roman entered the living room and stopped short. Virgil peeked up at him and shuffled under his blanket burrito until he could wave at him.

“Hi Roro.”

“Virgil?”

“Yeah.”

“What are you doing here? Why are you here?”

He shrunk in on himself, pulling the blanket closer.

“I- uh. I can leave if you want me to, I’m sorry.”

“No, no no no, that’s not it, Vee! I’m just surprised, is all.”

“Oh. Okay. I ran away.”

“You ran away? What happened?”

“I’ll give you three guesses.”

Roman sighed, seemingly deflating as he crossed the room to kneel down in front of his little brother. Was it just him or was he still the same height as half a year ago?

“What are you gonna do now? Where are you gonna go?”

Virgil looked down at his lap and shrugged.

“Dunno. I’d hoped to stay with you for a bit, I can pay rent, I’ve got a job! And I’ll do the chores!”

“No, Vee, it’s okay. You don’t have to pay rent. Of course you can stay! You know I’ll always help you. You’ll have to stay in my room but we’ll figure it out, I promise.”

He sniffled and raised his hands towards Roman in a familiar show of grabby hands and Roman smiled as he wrapped his arms around him.

“It’s okay that I’m letting Virgil stay, right?” Roman asked belatedly, looking at Patton.

“Well you still have to ask Logan, kiddo. But I don’t mind. You’re brothers, it’s natural for you to want to help him.”

“Thanks Pat.”

As they waited for Logan to get home Virgil wormed his way into Roman’s lap, snuggling down into his chest. Roman honestly wasn’t surprised by this, Virgil was pretty much always touch starved when they saw each other which, unfortunately, wasn’t as often as Roman wanted since Virgil was kept on a very short leash by their mother and brother Remus.

They pretty much only got to see each other when Virgil was out with their father which became less and less frequent over time.

Roman's biggest regret in life was not being able to take his brother along when he'd moved out at age 18 but Virgil had only been nine then, there had been no way for Roman to take him without endangering both of them.

But now he was here, safe in his arms, small as ever and Roman vowed to himself that he would never let anything happen to Virgil again.

Virgil went rigid when the door opened once again and Roman's arms instinctually tightened around him, pulling him impossibly closer as he heard Logan come home.

"Hello Patton, Roman, I'm home." he greeted his roommates, stopping short when he noticed the vaguely human shaped lump of blankets in Roman's lap. 

"This is Virgil. My brother. He's staying with us now." Roman introduced the lump which shifted until a face peeked out at him. Virgil waved.

"Ah. I see. Hello Virgil, it's a pleasure to meet you. Roman has told us about you."

"Hi" Virgil said before returning to his previous position.

“I will get changed now but I propose we talk about this to make sure we are all on the same page with Virgil moving in with us.” Logan declared after another beat of silence. He didn’t wait for any of his roommates to answer him before he trudged up the stairs towards his room.

A while later he returned in more casual clothes and settled down on the couch.

“Alright. Roman, you have told us a few things about Virgil, including that he just turned 15. How are we going to support a 15 year old living with us? Are we financially stable to pay for his wants and needs? What happens when your parents come looking for him? How is he to get to school from here? We’re outside of the school district your parents’ house is in.”

“Uhm… I can pay for stuff, I’ve got a job and I can get to school by bus, work as well.” Virgil chimed in, already having thought about those points at length. “And- uh. The only person who would care if I suddenly went missing is Ro. And maybe Dad but he’s not been well so nobody’s gonna come looking for me.”

Logan seemed a little uncomfortable at the thought of the boy not being missed by anyone but his older brother. Patton looked equally disturbed and sad about the admission.

“That may be as it is but we should still get a lawyer to advise us on this in the off chance someone _does_ come looking for you. There is no chance a court would let us keep you should we be caught technically having kidnapped you since that is how cases like this often end up going.”

“O-Okay. But lawyers are expensive aren’t they? I don’t know if I have enough money for that.”

“No, none of that. I did say _we_ for a reason. You are a minor and we know about Roman’s complicated relationship with his family and from what he has told us, your relationship with them is even more complicated. We will help you. Don’t worry. Money is not an issue here.”

Patton smiled, reaching out to lay a hand on what he assumed to be Virgil’s shoulder. “He’s right, kiddo. We’re lucky enough to all have jobs that pay well enough to let us put some aside for savings. Having you won’t make a big change. We’ll be okay.”

Virgil just blinked up at him for a moment, eyes impossibly large and looking a little wet and glassy. “Thanks.” he managed to choke out without letting his tears spill over. Then he took in a large breath and buried his face back in Roman’s shoulder where it was warm and soft and comfortable and familiar and he didn’t need to keep looking at these strangers who were willing to help him and spend money on him just because they were friends with his brother.

These people were grown ass men and way too kind for their own good and Virgil promised to protect them with all he had.

But first, he was going to keep hiding his face in his brother’s shoulder and maybe take a little nap. As a treat. Not even Logan and Patton’s chatter bothered him as he fell asleep.

Roman kept himself out of the conversation as he felt Virgil gradually relax against him, wanting to let him sleep. The kid just seemed so tired and whatever had prompted him to run away had probably drained him even more.

“I’ll bring him up to bed, guys.” he whispered once he was sure Virgil was asleep. He somehow managed to get up without dropping his precious cargo, graciously accepting Patton’s offer in opening the door and pulling back his covers so he could tuck Virgil in.

Once Virgil was tucked in properly and Patton had left Roman sat down on the edge of the bed, watching over Virgil for a bit. He was tiny, always having been small for his age but the way he’d immediately curled up under the blankets made him look even smaller, younger and more vulnerable. Roman could barely convince himself to leave the room to rejoin the others in the living room. After a few minutes he got up, leaned over to press a kiss to Virgil’s forehead and left after tucking the blanket closer around him.

When Roman went to bed a few hours later, Virgil was still asleep, pressed against the wall, unconsciously leaving room for Roman to slip in under the covers with him.

Roman had just settled down somewhat when Virgil stirred. He froze, afraid of waking the teen but his worry was unnecessary since all Virgil did was curl up to him and place his head on Roman’s shoulder.

With his little brother’s warm weight at his side, Roman fell asleep faster and easier than he had in months.


	2. Adjustments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman, Logan and Patton make adjustments after Virgil moves in with them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a tiny interlude chapter that will be followed by a longer chapter with something at least resembling Plot.

They got a new bed for Virgil and Roman had never been happier about the fact that his room was the biggest bedroom in the house. They’d also gotten an additional shelf and wardrobe for Virgil’s meager belongings and school supplies.

Within days, he looked happier and healthier than Roman had seen him in years, probably  _ ever _ and Roman never wanted to see him as unhappy as he’d been before ever again.

The more time he spent with Virgil, the more Roman noticed how much he’d missed him all those years. There had been days, when they were both still living with their parents, that Virgil would never once leave Roman’s side. There were days when one couldn’t see Roman without seeing Virgil and Mittens the cat trailing after him like little ducklings following their mother duck.

Virgil didn’t follow him around like that anymore and MIttens the cat was put down over a year ago. Instead, Virgil would crawl into bed with him sometimes when the night seemed particularly dark and long. He’d curl up against him or even on his lap in the evenings when they were all spending time in the living room. He would do his homework in the theatre while Roman was still working and occasionally look up at him with wonder and love in his eyes that always reminded Roman of better days long gone. He’d rush through the house in the mornings, getting ready for school and before leaving he’d always insistently present his forehead to Roman until he placed a kiss on it and then gently bumped their foreheads against each other. When walking downtown he would tug at Roman’s sleeve when he noticed something and wanted to check it out.

Roman was happier than he had been in ages as well. With their mother despising her two “superfluous” sons, her perfect son being horrible and their father suffering from severe depressions, Roman had all but raised Virgil and now he could spend more time with him than he had in ages.

The fact that Virgil quickly bonded with Patton and Logan made everything just perfect.

Not exactly perfect though. 15 years of living in less than optimal conditions left Virgil with a plethora of issues, most noticeably his anxiety. He was jumpy and scared to speak up or approach strangers. Roman had to coach him through an anxiety attack at the mere thought of having to ask a store clerk for help finding a specific item. Needless to say, Roman had ended up asking the clerk.

Luckily, Logan was a doctor at a medical complex which also housed a therapist who was willing to extend a co-workers and family discount to Virgil. His sessions with Dr. Emile Picani went well and the teen felt comfortable talking to him. It was slow to see improvements but Virgil started learning ways to cope with the symptoms of his anxiety. This was further helped by Logan’s constant willingness to talk Virgil out of cognitive distortions and spirals.

Roman had watched the entire ordeal and made a decision after discussing it with Patton and Logan. He didn’t tell Virgil though since he was worried about making him nervous.

So his plan was okayed, everyone was on the same page and Roman made all the appropriate appointments, getting Patton and Logan to distract Virgil on the day he planned to make his move.

He had expected something nice, maybe a day at the park. Not what Logan said the morning of the big day. The moment he heard what Logan had planned he knew Virgil would come crawling in his bed for at least the next week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to come talk to me over on tumblr, @ashrain5


	3. Disastrous Distraction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan is a horrible person who breaks trust and betrays Virgil.  
> Virgil is straight up not having a good time.  
> Based on this prompt: "If you’re taking prompts, how about Virgil who isn’t up to date on his shots, Logan who knows *just* what to look up and how to do this, and Patton, who needs to half hold Virgil still and half hug him."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've finally reached the plot point that is relevant to lizluvscupcakes's prompt! yay!

Patton wasn’t sure how the day had gone from normal to…  _ this _ .

It started during breakfast when Logan looked up from his coffee, made eye contact with Virgil and told him that now that he was living with them he needed to get his vaccinations taken care of.

Virgil paled significantly, scrunching himself down to look even smaller than he was normally. “How do you know about my vaccination status?”

“I checked.” Logan had answered as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

“When? How?”

“After you moved in with us. I have taken the liberty to make an appointment with the pediatrician at my medical complex to get your vaccines taken care of and to create a plan to get you all up to date. It is today at eleven a.m. so we can go get lunch after.”

Virgil had nodded, finished his own coffee and bolted out of the kitchen towards his and Roman’s shared room.

Patton looked over at Logan who seemed clueless, then at Roman who looked exasperated and worried. “He’s not going to come willingly is he.”

“Absolutely not. Remus told him so much shit about vaccines, he’s terrified of them. He’s never gotten a vaccine in his life because our mother couldn’t be bothered to take care of him like that. The only one who was vaccinated as a kid was Remus because he was  _ important _ , in comparison to Vee and me. She also didn’t really- believe in most medicine? She only got Remus vaccinated because it was a condition to him joining this sports club he’s been in since we were kids. You’re gonna have a horrible time with Virgil.”

Patton sighed and put his face in his hands. He’d suspected this since Logan had brought up the topic. It would inevitably be up to him to coax Virgil out since Roman was leaving for “work” soon.

He watched his roommate finish his breakfast and head up to his room to get ready and bid his brother goodbye. An hour after Roman left it was time for the Creature to emerge so Patton knocked at the door of Roman and Virgil’s room.

“Kiddo? It’s time to go, we don’t wanna be late to your appointment.”

“No! I’m not going! I don’t want any shots!” Virgil shouted from inside, sounding angry but unable to hide the little tremor in his voice.

“Virgil, you don’t have to be scared. It’s gonna be okay, Lo and I will be with you the whole time! Nothing can hurt you.” 

“Vaccines can kill people! They’re full of toxins! What if my arm starts to rot and falls off!”

“That won’t happen, Verge. And regardless, this is just to talk about a schedule for you to get your shots, you won’t get any yet!” he said, leaving his  _ I hope so at least _ unvoiced.

That seemed to get through to Virgil as the door opened just a little bit, barely enough for him to peek out at him. “You sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure. And I’m sure Ro can come along to your next appointment when you do get a shot.”

He watched Virgil chew on his lip as he contemplated before finally nodding and letting the door swing open wider.

He smiled at him and offered his hand. “Let’s get ready, kiddo.”

Virgil didn’t take his hand but he did nod and step out of the room, following him downstairs.

They were on their way to Logan’s workplace a few minutes later, Logan driving, Patton riding shotgun and Virgil in the back. 

The closer they got to their destination the twitchier Virgil seemed to get, fidgeting with his fingers, pulling the strings of his hoodie’s hood, tapping his feet, sliding around in his seat as if trying to find a comfortable position.

By the time they arrived Virgil was actually shaking with how hard he was tapping his feet. Or maybe he was just shaking and the tapping didn’t make much difference.

“It’s okay, Verge. We’re here with you.” Patton reassured him as they entered the building, following Logan who steadily approached the door labeled as  _ pediatrics. _

“Hello Remy, I am here for the appointment I scheduled for Roman’s brother.” he announced to the person manning the front desk who didn’t even dignify them with a greeting and just waved them on through the door.

Behind the doors was a brightly colored nightmare filled with overtired parents and loud kids entertaining themselves with the provided toys or crying about being at the doctor’s. Logan frowned at that a little but took a seat next to Virgil, placing the boy between himself and Patton.

As luck had it they were summoned not too much later, a perk of getting the co-worker treatment, for sure. Logan had planned to let Virgil go in on his own since he was old enough to but Patton’s scathing look quickly made him follow them inside.

“Hi! I’m Dr. Sylvia Davenport. You must be Virgil right? Logan told me you’re his roommate’s brother?” The doctor introduced herself, trying to make him relax a little by mentioning Roman. Secretly, Patton was glad they’d ended up with the kind looking middle aged woman with the smile lines around her eyes. She seemed harmless and was obviously good with kids.

“Yeah. His name’s Roman.”

“Okay. And I heard that you and Roman didn’t really get vaccines growing up. I can’t really help Roman in that regard but I  _ can  _ help you. Let’s talk about a schedule to get your immunisations to where they should be for a 15 year old, huh?”

Virgil eyed her warily despite her trustworthy smile and soothing tone. He just shrugged. She kept smiling.

“I think we should start with combination vaccines so we can get as many in you in as little time as possible, that means you’ll get the vaccines for several diseases in one go so you don’t have to get as many shots. Once we’ve exhausted those we can move on to the single vaccines like tetanus or tick-borne encephalitis. Does that sound okay?”

Virgil just shrugged again though Patton could see the panic in his eyes that told him he just wanted to get out, to run, to hide and he felt something in his chest ache at the sight of it.

“Okay! I’ll print out the schedule for you so you and your guardians can keep track of your appointments, then we can get to your first combination vaccines. I was thinking  ProQuad and Pediarix. Pediarix will protect you from diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B, and polio while ProQuad will help with measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella.” she explained calmly as Virgil’s face drained of color until he was pale enough to almost count as translucent.

“You said I wouldn’t get a shot.” he whispered, eyes not leaving Dr Davenport’s back as she drew up the schedule on her PC. Patton felt as horrified as Virgil seemed.

“Yeah because I thought you wouldn’t.”

He truly hadn’t meant to lie to Virgil or lull him into a false sense of security or break his trust. While he was still mentally kicking himself Virgil had gotten up, wiping sweaty hands on his back.

“Thank you very much but that’s not necessary. I think I’ll head out now, bye.” he said before turning tail and leaving.

Well he  _ tried _ to leave but Logan grabbed on to the back of his hoodie, pulling him back. “No, that’s not happening. Please ignore him, Sylvia, he’s nervous but he  _ will _ get the immunisations you recommended today.”

Dr. Davenport, bless her soul, raised an eyebrow at Logan and Virgil, scepticism clear in her eyes. “Are you sure about that?” she asked to which Virgil was just about to answer  _ No I’m fucking not, I want to leave _ , when Logan shot him a sharp glare, much like his mother always did when he was about to do something she would very much dislike.

So he shut up, stuffed his hands into his hoodie pockets to hide their shaking and gulped. “Yes Ma’am.” he whispered, eyes so wide and terrified Patton wondered how Logan could pull through with forcing Virgil to do this.

Logan nodded, clearly satisfied as he herded Virgil over to the padded examination table, making him lay down in an attempt to make him relax even marginally while Dr. Davenport prepared the syringes.

Virgil watched her warily, trying to keep his breathing even. He lost count on his breathing when Dr. Davenport approached with the little tray holding the syringes and alcohol swabs.

He tried to squirm but Logan was still holding on to him, holding him down.

“No, please don’t, I don’t want this. I really don’t.” he started to babble, quickly drowned out by Logan’s reassurances that  _ Yes, Sylvia, I’m sure, we want this, he needs his vaccines, he’s just nervous. I’ll hold him still. _

Patton felt his heart break at Virgil’s panicked look and felt it absolutely  _ shatter _ when he started crying and begging for the doctor to  _ please stop, please! _ and he couldn’t stop himself from getting up and sitting with Virgil, grabbing his hand for comfort.

“Oh honey, it’s okay, you don’t need to be scared, I’ve got you, it’s okay.” he tried to soothe him. Needless to say, it was unsuccessful. The more he tried to calm Virgil down, the louder his pleas became.

Pleas became cries became wordless shouts of fear.

Patton felt his ears ring. The boy had a pair of lungs on him and Patton wished he’d stop for his ears’ sake. Until then he had an idea to try and calm him down.

He held his phone to his ear, desperately hoping for Roman to pick up. He let out a sigh of relief when Roman picked up at the second ring. “Roman! Thank gosh, you gotta help us calm Virgil down.” he said, not even acknowledging his roommate’s greeting.

Virgil had apparently heard Roman’s name over his own shouting, fell silent for just a second as he stared at Patton. Then he zeroed in on Patton’s phone, realised what was going on and started shouting for Roman, tears running down his cheeks faster than before.

Patton hurriedly held his phone to Virgil’s ear.

“Roman! Roman, help! Where are you? I don’t wanna be here, I wanna go home! Roman-” he cried, muffling any noise that might come out of the speaker, meaning he was the only one able to hear what Roman said to him. Whatever it was seemed successful though. While he was still crying, Virgil was definitely calmer and not squirming as much as he babbled into the phone. Meanwhile, Dr. Davenport quickly administered the shots, quickly applying bandaids over the injection sites.

Only then did Logan let him go, rolling off the table as he rubbed at his temple with one hand. He had been even closer to Virgil’s mouth, Patton wouldn’t be surprised if Logan had permanent damage to his hearing from this. Heck, Patton wouldn’t be surprised if he himself had hearing loss from this!

But what was definitely true was that Virgil had screamed and cried himself hoarse. His voice was absolutely wrecked as he still cried into the phone

“Kiddo, hey, it’s okay. It’s over now, c’mon, let’s get you up.” Patton coaxed, gently grabbing his shoulder to help him sit up. “Let’s go, you’re done, we can go now, we can go home.”

Virgil, still clutching the phone, nodded miserably and huddled into his hoodie which Logan had forced him to take off to expose his arms to the doctor.

“Do you wanna keep talking to Ro on our way home?”

“Uh-huh.”   


“Okay, honey. You can do that, I just gotta take the phone for just a second okay? I’ll let you talk to Ro again in just a moment.”

Virgil looked at him warily but slowly gave him the phone.

“Hey Roman. We’re done now, we’ll take Vee back home now.”

_ “Okay. I’m on my way home now, I’ll be there in twenty.”  _ Roman’s voice came through the speaker, somber and tinny, accompanied by the noise of other people and traffic in the background.

“Okay. I’ll take Lo out later to get take out, I think our kiddo deserves it today and I think he could use a bit of down time with just you.”

_ “Yeah, sounds good. Thanks Pat.” _

“It’s no problem. I’ll give you back to Virgil now okay?”

He didn’t wait for an answer since Virgil had considerably perked up at his last sentence, already making grabby hands at Patton. Or more accurately, at Patton’s phone.

With Virgil on the phone with Roman it was easy to usher the teen into the car to start their way back home. Once there Virgil followed them home and scurried to his and Roman’s room, Patton’s phone still clutched to his ear.

“Well this went horribly.” Patton told Logan who just nodded.

“You mentioned takeout. What should we get?”

“Well I’m not sure but Virgil likes pizza. We should ask Roman once he gets home.”

Logan nodded and headed up to his own room.

Patton stayed downstairs and began making hot chocolate a few minutes before Roman was supposed to come home. He waved at him when he came in and handed him two mugs of the beverage to take upstairs for Virgil.

Then he settled on the couch so the boys could have some privacy.


	4. Reasoning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let's see where Roman was while his little brother was Tortured and Betrayed.  
> They'll be okay.

Roman knew leaving Virgil with Logan and Patton was a bad idea when he heard Logan’s plans for him.

He reluctantly got ready and bumped his forehead against Virgil’s without prompting before leaving.

He took the bus to his destination, leaving his car at home.

Half an hour later he arrived at the shelter he’d researched. On their website, he’d seen that they had several puppies up for adoption and he figured that he could check them out.

He approached an employee in the entrance hall. “Hi, I’m Roman, I scheduled an appointment to meet the dogs?”

“Hello. I’m Madison, let me just cross you out of the calendar, then I’ll show you to the dogs. Maybe we can find someone for you!”

“Oh, uhm, it’s not actually going to be my dog. I want to adopt a puppy for my younger brother so we can train it to be a service dog for him, I just want to take a bit of stress and anxiety off him by getting to know the dogs first.” he explained, feeling a little sheepish.

“That’s a good idea. We have several puppies currently. If you’re looking for a service dog I’d recommend a labrador, golden retriever, german shepherd, poodle or border collie. They’re really popular service dog breeds! We currently have a five month old black lab and several german shepherd puppies we got from an abandoned puppy mill, they’re between three and eight weeks, too young to be adopted on normal terms. That’s all the puppies we have but you can still train an older dog to be a service dog.” Madison explained to him as she showed him the way to the dogs.

Roman nodded along, having already researched service dogs at length before he’d even thought about bringing it up with Patton and Logan.

Madison let him go into the kennel with the puppies to let him check them out. The lab was probably not a good fit. It was old enough to have a distinct personality that was probably going to be too loud and excitable for Virgil. Some of the german shepherds seemed that way as well though some seemed excitable but more quiet and calm than their kennel mates.

“We neuter and castrate puppies at six weeks of age just to be on the safe side so the older ones are fixed already.” Madison told him from the other side of the kennel door.

He nodded his understanding and sat down to let the puppies explore. “What about this one?” he asked about a german shepherd who looked just a little different from the others.

“Oh that’s Blue, he’s four weeks old and we’re starting to wean him. He’s an old german shepherd, that’s why his fur is longer and he’s bigger than the others his age. The others are normal german shepherds.”

“Oh. Okay. He seems quiet.”

“He is, in comparison to the other pups. We don’t know what happened to his mother or littermates. Having them or knowing what happened to them might explain a bit about him but he’s healthy and smart.”

Roman nodded again and let Blue climb all over his lap, sniffing curiously. “I think he’s a good choice. Could I return tomorrow with my brother so we can make a decision?”

“Sure! He’s pretty recognisable, I’m sure you’ll find him again.” she said, opening the door to let him out again.

His phone began to ring just as he was leaving the shelter. He picked up and immediately jumped at the noise coming from the other side. “Pat? You good?”

_ “Roman! Thank gosh, you gotta help us calm Virgil down.” _

“Oh god is that Virgil screaming?” he asked, horrified as he recognised his little brother’s voice. The screaming got louder as Patton apparently handed over the phone.

_ “Roman! Roman, help! Where are you? I don’t wanna be here, I wanna go home! Roman-”  _ were not words he ever wanted to hear Virgil say, let alone yell.

“Virgil! Vee, I’m here, it’s okay. Listen to me okay? I need you to try breathing with me okay? In for four, hold for seven and out for eight. Try it with me-” he began, counting out breaths for Virgil as the teen continued to cry.

It broke his heart to hear Virgil like that, reminding him of a little boy tugging at his blanket after a nightmare. It made him want to wrap Virgil in a blanket and keep him safe forever. He  _ wanted _ so much he ached with it.

But he couldn’t do anything until they both were home so all he could do was try to keep him calm over the phone as he went home.

After the others had gotten to the car, Virgil had gone very silent. All Roman could hear now was his heavy breathing and occasional sob. He just tried to comfort him, desperately willing the bus to go faster so he could get home sooner.

His stop couldn’t come sooner and the moment it was announced he was telling Virgil and getting up to wait by the door.

He barely remembered to thank the bus driver when the door finally opened and he nearly sprinted down the street towards the house.

“Okay I’m home now, I’m unlocking the door, you hear me, Virgil? I’m unlocking the door now so I’m going to end the call, alright? I’ll be right with you in a second.” he promised, only putting down the phone after Virgil gave a tiny little  _ okay _ .

Patton pushed two warm mugs of hot chocolate into his hands when he came in and he gave a little smile in thanks before hurrying upstairs to Virgil.

“Hey Vee. I’m home. It’s okay.” he said softly as he entered his room without knocking, carefully holding both mugs in one hand to open the door. He spotted nothing but a vaguely Virgil sized lump under his blanket, wrapped in Roman’s red comforter.

He sat down on the edge of the bed, putting the mugs on the bedside table. The lump squirmed a little. He placed a hand on what he assumed to be Virgil’s shoulder.

“You gonna come out of there for me, Vee?”

Virgil shuffled under the blanket again and soon popped his head out from under the heavy fabric. He looked horrible, eyes red and swollen, cheeks blotchy from tears. 

“Oh Vee.” he said, placing his hand on his cheek instead of the shoulder. He brushed away a stray tear with his thumb and opened his arms when Virgil crawled into his lap.

“They made me get shots. Two of them.” he whimpered, hiding his face in Roman’s chest, hands grabbing fistfuls of Roman’s shirt.

“It’s okay, Vee. It’s gonna be okay. Nothing’s gonna happen to you now.”

“But- But what if my arm starts to rot now? What if it falls off? Remus said he got shots and had to use extra essential oils cuz they made him real sick cuz they’re full of toxins! I don’t wanna die or lose my arms.”

“Virgil, none of that is gonna happen. I promise you, vaccines are 100% safe. The chances of a vaccine causing any kind of harm are tiny! I might even say  _ infinitesimal.  _ You’ll be just fine, Vee.”

“But what if! I know they don’t cause autism but what if they can make me sick in other ways? Mom said there’s mercury and lead in vaccines and they use aborted babies for them!”

“That’s not true. How about you drink some hot chocolate and calm down a little and then we can do some research to see how much of what Remus and Mom said is true, okay?”

“Okay.” he whispered, quietly accepting the purple mug Roman gave him.

Roman smiled as Virgil took the first tentative sip, then got up and stripped both of their beds of all blankets and pillows, throwing them all in a pile by the door. “I’ll be right back, just gotta get some things okay?” Virgil nodded, still holding on to his mug.

Roman hurried out and barged first into Logan’s room and took the extra blanket and throw pillows he had on his bed, carrying them over to Patton’s room where he did the same. He dumped his finds on the pile in their room and then went to loot the linen closet in the hallway where he found several blankets which quickly joined his pile. He looked at it for a moment, determining that it was large enough.

With a smile to Virgil he began to build a blanket fort, using the desk, the chair and his bedpost for support. He even went the extra mile to dig out some unused fairy lights to tape them under the desktop. Illuminating the fort in a soft, warm light.

“Okay! How far are you with your chocolate?”

“‘M done.”

“Good! Come on in then! And bring my laptop, will you?”

There was shuffling outside of the fort and a moment later, Virgil came crawling in, laptop in hand.

Roman took the laptop from him so he could settle in comfortably.

“Alright. Let’s do some research.”

And research they did. They spent almost three hours looking up how modern vaccines worked, what they contained and how often they caused negative side effects. By the time they called it quits Virgil was not entirely calm but calm enough. He was not far enough to let go of the fear their mother and brother had instilled in him but Roman knew he wouldn’t be quite as distressed next time, especially if Roman could come along the next time he had to get a vaccine.

Patton and Logan ended up going out to get pizza for them all and Virgil and Roman ate inside their fort, careful not to spill anything on their borrowed blankets. Once they’d finished their food they settled down to watch some movies on Roman’s laptop.

Roman thought he was sneaky when he chose  _ The Nightmare Before Christmas _ as the first movie.

“I know today’s surprise was pretty shitty but we can do something good tomorrow okay? Something actually fun and not traumatising.”

Virgil tore his gaze from the screen, turning big, curious eyes on him. “Promise?”

“Yeah, Vee. I promise. It’ll be a good surprise. I went today to make sure you’d like it.”

Virgil blinked at him before nodding, snuggling in against him again. “Okay.” he said and Roman felt something in his chest warm at the knowledge that his brother trusted him.

They ended up falling asleep in their blanket fort. Roman’s back complained in the morning but Virgil seemed much more settled and well rested so he didn’t complain.


	5. Addition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let's see what Virgil thinks about Roman's surprise.

Virgil didn’t talk to Logan the next day, obviously not over the betrayal. He did, however, try to get Roman to spill the beans on the surprise.

It took all of his self control but Roman managed not to say anything, despite always having been weak for Virgil’s puppy eyes. Instead, he bundled him into the car right after breakfast and tried to distract him on the way so he wouldn’t notice where they were headed quite as soon.

He was just about to tell Virgil about something that had happened at the theatre when the boy gasped.

“Roman. Ro, Ro, Ro, are we going to the shelter?”

“Hmmm maybe.”

“Are we gonna play with the puppies? Patton said they let you play with puppies sometimes!”

Roman just smiled, not saying anything as he parked the car. Virgil got out of the car before Roman had even turned off the engine, squirming in place as he waited for Roman to get out as well.

He ushered Virgil over to the door, greeting Madison who was in again that day.

“Good morning! That your brother you told me about?”

“Morning. Yeah, this is him.”  
  
“Alrighty! Let’s go see the babies then!”

Virgil grabbed Roman’s hand, practically vibrating with excitement as they approached the puppy kennel, little yaps and borks already audible.

As Madison opened the door for them, Virgil let go of Roman in order to dart in and flop down on his butt to let the dogs sniff at him.

“Please don’t mention adoption, yeah? I don’t want to freak him out.” he told Madison quietly before entering the kennel as well.

“You like this surprise, Vee?”

“Yes, absolutely. I love them and I would die for them.” Virgil said, snuggling Blue to his chest as the puppy nosed at his chin, others climbing over his lap.

“That’s good. I’m glad you like this. You seem pretty taken with that pupper there.”

“Yeah, it’s super sweet. Just look at that tiny little face! How old is he?”

“Four weeks! We call him Blue.” Madson explained, standing by the door.

Virgil cooed, pressing kisses to Blue’s fluffy little forehead. “Oh you’re just a tiny little baby. What happened to your Mommy? You’re too little to be without her aren’t you? Yes you are! Yes you are!”

Roman smiled, amused by Virgil’s baby voice as he snuggled the puppy. “You like him that much?”

“Yes. I love him and I’m gonna come back to visit him as much as possible.”

“Uhm. About that. I think he’s already scheduled to be adopted, Vee.”

Roman honestly felt a little bad when he saw Virgil’s shoulder slump and his smile slip off his face before he put on a fake smile.

“That- that’s good! He’ll have a really nice family.”

“Yeah. He will, Vee. Think you’re gonna be up to taking good care of him?”

“What? What are you talking about? Roman what do you mean?”

Roman grinned before turning to the door. “Hey Madison, I think we’re quite done here, we’ve decided.”

“That’s great! Let me let you out, then we can prepare all the adoption papers.”

Virgil was starting to tear up as he held Blue close. “What’s happening? Ro, are you serious?”

“Yeah, Vee. The little guy is coming home with us. I wanted to get you a dog so we can train it to be a service dog in case I’m not with you."

And there Virgil’s self control went and he was crying big, fat tears as he babbled his thanks and happiness into Blue’s soft fur.

“Aw Vee, it’s okay, you don’t need to cry, it’s okay!” Roman said, smiling. “C’mon, let’s get out so we can take him home.”

Virgil nodded, slowly picking up puppies from his lap to put back on the ground, keeping Blue in his arms as he got up, Roman following him out of the kennel.

Roman signed the adoption papers, paid the adoption fee and thanked Madison for all her help.

They got a collar and leash but didn’t use it since VIrgil seemed very determined to not let go of his new puppy, all the way to the pet store.

“Alright. We need another collar and a harness to get him used to for when he’s ready for the service dog vest, a different leash, bowls, food, a to-go water bowl, toys, grooming stuff and a bed. He’s your dog now, Virgil and though I will help you, you will have to take care of him the most okay? You’ll have to brush him every day, you have to walk him, you’ll have to go to puppy school and get him trained to be a service dog. I’ll pay for his food and other stuff and walk him from time to time but he’s your responsibility, you understand?”

“Yeah. I do. Thanks, Roro.”

Roman pulled him into a side hug. “You’re welcome. Now go on and pick out stuff. He’s your dog, you get to choose all the colors. And we’re getting him a dog tag so think about a new name for him if you want one.”

Roman had barely finished his sentence when Virgil was already running off, excitedly browsing the shelves. Whenever something caught his eye he’d stop, investigate it and either dismiss it or show it to Blue to get his opinion. He ended up with several collars and harnesses and leashes and beds, along with several toys, some brushes, bowls and food they’d asked an employee’s help for.

“Sooo are you done?”

“No, not yet.” he said, picking out all the leashes, collars, harnesses and the beds, sitting down somewhere where he wouldn’t be in the way of any other customers. “I gotta choose which ones to take! This is way too many things for one puppy, Ro.”

Roman snorted out a laugh, leaning on their shopping cart as he watched Virgil debate on the merits and disadvantages of his chosen items, apparently using both Roman and Blue as sounding boards. The employee gave them an amused glance as eventually Virgil decided on one collar and leash, two harnesses, a bed and a blanket for “when he wants to lay in the living room!”

Roman went to the register while Virgil scampered off with the rejected items, placing Blue into the shopping cart for safekeeping while he put the things away. “It’s mean to let the employees clean up my mess, Ro!” he said over his shoulder as he struggled not to lose anything.

Once everything was ringed up he made Virgil choose a tag and they got it engraved with their names, address and Blue’s new name which Virgil chose to be Thomas.

Roman ended up leaving quite some money at the store and while Virgil tried to give him money for it, he didn’t accept it because he didn’t regret it at all and he’d saved some money for this exact purpose.

The whole way home Virgil kept petting Thomas, whose tail was wagging a mile a minute.

Once home Roman helped Virgil carry everything inside.

“Padre! We’re home! Look what we got!” he called and just a moment later Patton’s footsteps came rushing out of the kitchen where he was making lunch.

“Oh my gosh, puppy!” he squealed, immediately moving up to Virgil to coo over him and the dog.

“His name’s Thomas. Ro said he’s gonna be my service dog.” Virgil explained, showing off the little bundle of fluff. After a while Roman managed to convince Virgil to let Thomas down to let the dog explore his new home.

The next hour was spent following a tiny german shepherd as he sniffed about the house, exploring every nook and cranny. The backyard was explored with even more enthusiasm.

All curiosity was gone the moment Virgil wasn’t there anymore though. While Thomas was exploring, Virgil had gone inside to get something to drink and the second Thomas noticed that his human wasn’t there anymore he went to follow him inside, tripping over his own paws.

He’d grow into them, Roman supposed.

In the kitchen he found Virgil sipping from a water bottle, sitting on the ground next to Thomas who was slobbering water from one of the newly purchased bowls, occasionally looking up at Virgil who would always smile at the pup when he did.

By evening everything had calmed down a little bit, Virgil taking Thomas out for a walk before bed. When Roman went to bed later in the evening, he expected Virgil to be in his bed, waiting for him to come in and make sure he’d be safe like he’d done several times before. Instead, Virgil was in his own bed, curled up around his pillow with Thomas sleeping on the pillow next to Virgil’s head. Roman dared to turn on the fairy lights in order to take a picture of them.


	6. Memory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman remembers a certain moment of is childhood fondly.

Roman remembered his childhood sometimes. It wasn’t the best for the longest time but when he was nine years old his mother went to the hospital and he and Remus went to their grandparents and Roman knew why because when his parents came back a few day later they had a little baby carrier strapped into the backseat next to Roman’s car seat which had been pushed to the middle seat. But Roman knew that the baby was early! Mommy had explained that the baby would only come out of her belly in february but not it was only just december!

When Roman looked into the carrier on their ride home he knew he was in love. Inside was a baby. Of course there was, it was a baby carrier, what else would be inside!

But the baby! The baby had Roman’s entire heart the moment he saw it. Big, mismatched eyes blinked up at him from within a bundle of baby blue blankets and a tiny bit of fuzzy dark hair was on the baby’s head already.

Roman knew this was his baby brother and he knew he would be a better big brother than Remus was to him and he knew that he was going to protect his baby brother from everything that could ever try to hurt him.

And then the baby squirmed his little hand free of the swaddle and thrust his arm towards Roman and Roman offered his pointer finger and the baby wrapped his tiny little fingers around his much bigger finger and held on with a surprising amount of strength for a newborn.

“His name is Virgil.” Dad had said from the driver’s seat, having watched his younger sons interact from the rearview mirror.

_ Virgil. _

Roman would never forget that name, would never forget those eyes, brown and green, would never go a day without loving this tiny little boy.

And he was indeed tiny. Several doctor’s visits confirmed that little Virgil was quite small and frail for his age but quite quick, reaching major milestones before Remus or Roman did, according to their dad.

By the time Virgil was three he understood that Mommy didn’t really care about him much - she would often shoo him away the moment he approached her. He understood that Remus was really mean to him. He understood that Daddy liked him a lot but didn’t like playing, preferring to sit and watch movies or lay down and snuggle and nap. He understood that Mittens the cat was his best friend and would always come purr for him when Remus made him cry. He understood that Roman loved him lots and lots and played with him and napped with him and let him draw while Ro did his homework and would pick him up from daycare and always protected him.

Virgil understood that Roro was his absolute favorite person in the whole wide world.

When Mommy and Daddy forgot to take him to daycare he would sit by the front door all day, waiting for Roro to come back home. Sometimes Remus would come in first and Virgil would run and hide until Mommy greeted him so he wouldn’t have the attention to be mean to him. Then he’d sit in his hiding spot until Roro came to find him.

Oftentimes Roman would come home to Virgil hiding in the linen closet or the cupboard under the bathroom sink or under his bed, making grabby hands at him the moment he found him. And how could Roman ever deny his little brother the simple joy of being held? And with Virgil being a small three year old and Roman being a sporty 12 year old, it was easy to carry Virgil around like a little koala bear clinging on to him.

But sometimes, especially on weekends, Virgil would hold on to the back of Roman’s shirt and follow him around all day and sometimes Mittens the cat would faithfully follow Virgil in turn, meowing at her little human occasionally.

Honestly if Roman wasn’t at school it was very unlikely to see him without Virgil closeby, Mittens often not too far away either.

Roman had some… maybe almost friends at school who had little siblings and they often complained about their siblings following them. Roman didn’t. Roman was always downright  _ delighted _ when Virgil didn’t leave his side all day.

Roman absolutely loved the way Virgil looked at him with love and wonder and admiration. He looked at Roman like he was his favorite person and Roman understood because Virgil was absolutely Roman’s favorite person as well.


End file.
